1989 Mexican Grand Prix
28 May | number = 472 | officialname = XIII Gran Premio de Mexico | circuit = Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | location = Mexico City, Mexico | circuittype = Permanent racing facility | lapdistance = 4.421 | laps = 69 | distance = 305.049 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:17.876 |fastestlap = 1:20.420 |fastestlapdriver = Nigel Mansell |fastestlapnation = GBR |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 41 |winner = Ayrton Senna |winnernation = BRA-1968 |winnerteam = |second = Riccardo Patrese |secondnation = ITA |secondteam = |third = Michele Alboreto |thirdnation = ITA |thirdteam = }} The XIII Gran Premio de Mexico, otherwise known as the 1989 Mexican Grand Prix, was the fourth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on the 28 May 1989.'Mexican GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr472.html, (Accessed 17/04/2019) The race would see Ayrton Senna secure his third straight victory of the season for , despite having to start the race twice. The Brazilian had, as ever, claimed pole position during qualifying, beating teammate Alain Prost as they engaged in their familiar duel for top spot. Best of the rest would be Nigel Mansell in the , with Ivan Capelli claiming fourth in the . Senna duly aced the first start of the afternoon, leaving teammate Prost to lose out to Mansell on the run to the first corner. The rest of the field got away cleanly enough from the grid, only for an accident at the end of the opening tour. The cause proved to be Stefano Modena, who spun his exiting the Peraltada and came to rest in the middle of the circuit. That caused Olivier Grouillard, Alex Caffi and Capelli to all crash while taking avoiding action, resulting in the red flag being thrown. Fortunately all bar Capelli would be able to restart, the Italian's March having been too badly damaged with a CV joint failure. The restart was made from the original grid order, with Senna again sprinting into the lead, while Prost got away cleanly ahead of Gerhard Berger. The early stages saw a curious situation develop at the head of the field, with Prost simply unable to gain on Senna down the straights, despite using the slipstream effect. Indeed, the Frenchman clearly had the pace to beat the Brazilian, being able to close on Senna through the Peraltada, with Prost surmising that his Honda V10 was not the same as Senna's. Prost's race was ultimately ruined by his choice to run right behind Senna, for his tyres were destroyed following the in the Brazilian's wake. A second stop, for McLaren had put him on the wrong compound, almost saw the Frenchman drop a full lap behind his teammate, leaving Mansell in second ahead of Berger. The race was effectively settled from that point on, with Senna cruising home fifteen seconds clear come the chequered flag. Mansell and Berger were set to finish second and third until they hit gearbox issues, meaning Riccardo Patrese and Michele Alboreto completed the podium. Background Ayrton Senna had used his second victory of the season to climb to the top of the Championship, overtaking teammate Alain Prost to claim the lead in Monte Carlo. Indeed, while the pair ended the visit to Monaco level on eighteen points, it was the Brazilian's two victories that ensured that Senna ended the weekend ahead on count-back. A nine point gap then followed to third placed Nigel Mansell, with thirteen drivers on the board after three races. It had been yet another dominant day for in the Constructors' Championship, with their second straight one-two of the campaign. were still their closest challengers despite failing to score, and hence slipped 27 points behind, with a point behind them in third. , meanwhile, were up to fourth three races into their return to F1, with completing the top five. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full pre-qualifying results for the are outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Alliot was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance. Milestones * appeared at their 400th Grand Prix as a constructor.'4. Mexico 1989', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1989/mexique.aspx, (Accessed 17/04/2019) * Riccardo Patrese entered a record 181st Grand Prix.'1989 Mexican GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1989&gp=Mexican%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 17/04/2019) * Alessandro Nannini made his 50th Grand Prix start. * Twentieth entry for Bernd Schneider, Gabriele Tarquini, Maurício Gugelmin and Luis Pérez-Sala. * Debut race for . * Twentieth entry for a car using #39 as its race number. * Ayrton Senna secured the 40th pole position for a engine. * Seventeenth career victory for Senna. * claimed their 73rd win as a constructor. ** Honda secured their 45th win as an engine supplier. * Michele Alboreto secured his 23rd and final podium finish. * Onyx and set a new record for most failures to pre-qualify in a single season - 7. Standings Ayrton Senna moved seven points clear at the head of the Championship with his third victory of the season, leaving Alain Prost a lonely second. Indeed, the Frenchman was eleven ahead of third placed Nigel Mansell, and maintained his belief that his car was under-powered compared to that of teammate Senna. Elsewhere, Alessandro Nannini had retained fourth ahead of Riccardo Patrese, with fifteen drivers on the board. once again extended their lead in the Constructors' Championship, moving 36 points clear of the team in second. That team proved to be , moving ahead of , with the Scuderia themselves now level with on nine. A two point gap then followed before appeared, with ten teams on the board leaving Mexico. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1989 Grands Prix Category:Mexican Grand Prix